Keith Barrow

Keith Barrow joined IRJ as News Editor in 2006 and was promoted to Associate Editor in 2008. He was previously editor of employee publications for the Welsh Assembly Government, G4S, and Thomsonfly, and has written for a range of other publications including the Derby Telegraph. He graduated from Lincoln University in 2002 with a degree in journalism.

SWISS Federal Railways (SBB) announced on January 30 that it has selected Amadeus IT Group for a contract to deliver a new international distribution system with the aim of improving interfaces with other operators and simplifying cross-border rail travel.

POLISH broad-gauge railway PKP LHS signed a Zlotys 121m (36.2m) loan agreement with the European Investment Bank on January 25, which will help finance a Zlotys 300m programme of infrastructure enhancements.

Automatic Train Operation has been widely used on metro lines for decades, but the technology is now starting to unlock benefits in more challenging main line environments. Keith Barrow reports from Vienna on how the industry is preparing to seize the opportunities offered by ATO on heavy rail networks.

THE African Development Bank has agreed to provide the Namibian government with a Rand 2bn ($US 167m) loan to finance upgrading of TransNamib’s Kranzberg - Walvis Bay line, together with the construction of a new highway between the capital Windhoek and the city’s airport.

THE first 17 Alstom Coradia Polyvalent bi-mode multiple units for Algerian National Railways (SNTF) was unloaded at the port of Algiers on January 28 after completing its voyage across the Mediterranean.

THE board of Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (Septa) voted on January 25 to approve the recommended locally-preferred alternative in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the King of Prussia Rail Project (KOP Rail), which will connect one of the largest out-of-town shopping malls in the United States to Philadelphia’s urban rail network.